William’s visit to South Africa will highlight the Earthshot Prize

The Prince of Wales will hold a high-level meeting with the President of South Africa during a week of events in Cape Town highlighting the royal family’s Earthshot Prize.

William’s audience with Cyril Ramaphosa was described as a “follow-up” to Mr Ramaphosa’s state visit to Britain in 2022.

The two men will sit down for talks and will be joined by Foreign Minister David Lammy, in the country for a meeting with his South African counterpart Ronald Lamola.

The future king will begin a four-day visit to Cape Town on Monday, where he will take part in a series of events shining a light on young African climate activists and the fight against the illegal wildlife trade, culminating in the presentation of the Earthshot Prize on Wednesday. .

William’s visit begins with an event featuring young environmental activists from across Africa and Southeast Asia participating in the first Earthshot Prize Climate Leaders Youth Program.

Antony Phillipson, the British High Commissioner to South Africa, said ahead of the royal visit: “I would like to emphasize that we are very pleased that the Prince of Wales is here this week for Earthshot Week, and we take the opportunity will make to do something. bilateral events with him and for him.”

He added: “We see this very much as a follow-up to the state visit… which we continue to see here as a very historic moment between Britain and South Africa.”

The High Commissioner categorized the royal family’s diplomatic role as the “highest level you can reach” and the policies underlying any given event would be pursued through follow-up orders from ministers.

Wednesday’s awards ceremony, dubbed the prince’s “Super Bowl” moment, will recognize environmental solutions to “fix” the planet and will be broadcast to 50 African countries with a potential African audience of millions, and shown online.

Cape Town’s Table Mountain and other landmarks will be greenlit during the four-day Earthshot Week, organized by the city and attended by William, and 1,000 community stalwarts have been invited to the ceremony in recognition of their efforts.

The Earthshot Prize green carpet has been a fixture since William first held the awards ceremony in London three years ago, followed by Boston and Singapore last year.

Guests have been asked to redesign their wardrobes or highlight African designers to highlight the importance of local talent and sustainable fashion. The arrivals on the famous walkway will be streamed live on the Earthshot Prize YouTube channel, with presenters Ebuka Obi-Uchendu and Moozlie. .

The awards event will take place in a reusable dome that has been used for a number of events, with the production ceremony creating around 650 jobs locally. It will be opened by composer and singer Lebo M, who will perform Circle Of Life from The Lion King in a pre-recorded performance from the top of Table Mountain.